SPORTS

Back-to-back homers power Jays past Astros 9-2

Dhiren Mahiban The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, August 14, 2016 4:30PM EDT

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman throws against the Houston Astros during the first inning of their American League baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, August 14, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Fred Thornhill)

Text:

TORONTO -- Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon.

The victory moves the Blue Jays a season-high 16 games above .500. Toronto (67-51) has now won five of their last six series, going 12-7 in that stretch. The Astros (61-57) have dropped consecutive games after winning four straight on the road.

Tulowitzki put Mike Fiers' fastball into the second deck at Rogers Centre for a two-run home run giving the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead. Martin followed it up by taking Fiers' first pitch yard for his 10th homer of the season -- it marks the seventh time this season the Blue Jays have hit back-to-back home runs.

Martin's long ball knocked Fiers (8-6) from the game. The Astros starter went 4 2/3 innings allowing five earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven.

Marcus Stroman (9-5) tossed six innings of one-run ball before allowing a solo shot to Jason Castro to lead off the seventh. The 25-year-old right-hander went 6 1/3 innings allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits while striking out eight in the win.

Martin showed off his defensive game in the seventh, leaning into the Astros dugout to grab an Alex Bregman foul ball for the second out of the inning.

Edwin Encarnacion gave the Blue Jays a 6-2 lead, hitting a solo home run off of Luke Gregerson in the seventh. The homer ties Encarnacion with Baltimore's Mark Trumbo for the Major League lead (33).

Toronto put up another three spot in the eighth, increasing its lead to seven. Melvin Upton Jr. delivered an RBI single and later scored while Josh Donaldson was issued a bases loaded walk by Astros reliever James Hoyt.

The Blue Jays got to Fiers early, taking a 1-0 lead on Tulowitzki's RBI single in the first. The veteran shortstop finished the day 3-for-4 with three runs batted in.

Astros shortstop Carlos Correa extended his hit streak to a career-best 10 games with a leadoff single in the second, and later scored on a Stroman throwing error tying the game 1-1.

Darrell Ceciliani's RBI double in the fourth gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.